Tag: nwobhm

phantom spell - heather & hearth
Vinyl

Phantom Spell: Heather & Hearth (2025)

How many times have I said that some albums seem tailor-made just for me? More than a few, by my addled-brain estimation. And yet that’s where we find ourselves with Heather & Hearth, the second album from Spain’s Phantom Spell, which is essentially one guy. But that guy, Kyle McNeill, seems to have offered up his soul to be the perfect vessel for 70s analog progressive rock (emphasis on the rock) blended with NWOBHM and a keen ear for songwriting. Like I said, tailor-made just for me. Due to…well, everything, it took a while to secure a copy on vinyl. But now it’s landed and I can finally talk about why I was so persistent in grabbing a physical copy.

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satan - suspended sentence
Cassette

Satan: Suspended Sentence (1987)

Everything about Suspended Sentence, the sophomore album from the UK NWOBHM pioneers Satan is a little rougher than their stellar debut four years earlier. The artwork feels a little rushed, the logo almost an afterthought. The production sounds muted, compressed and thin in sections, maybe overcompensating for songs that didn’t quite catch the fire Court In The Act did. And perhaps the most glaring change if you’re a fan: Brian Ross is missing on vocals, replaced for this one album by Michael Jackson (not “that” Michael Jackson) of Pariah. It overall makes for a more rough and tumble album, but though it doesn’t come up for listens that often, I still find moments of excitement in the way Satan build out their riffs and songs, so to kick off 80s metal week and close out March 2025 let’s dig in and see what’s behind the bones.

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def leppard - on through the night
Vinyl

Def Leppard: On Through The Night (1980)

We were driving home from Syracuse, a college visit trip that extended into our wedding anniversary. It was a beautiful late autumn drive, seeing the huge windmills scattered across as we drove over and through there Catskill mountains. The playlist was banging out tunes, and when “Wasted” came on my wife had no idea it was Def Leppard. There’s something about On Through The Night, that first album that sounds like a 70s album even though it came out in 1980. It’s just raw and rough and fun in a way the ultra-polish of the Robert “Mutt” Lang years would lose, despite the many accolades and dollars his production would bring to the band. That song led to a rabbit hole of early 80s hard rock that I still haven’t relinquished almost two weeks later, so why not dig in and understand what about this debut I like so much?

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angel witch - as above, so below
CD

Angel Witch: As Above, So Below (2012)

All I really knew about Angel Witch was that self-titled 1980 album, and that self titled song that was killer.  How many bands have written kick-ass songs named after themselves?  I was originally going to talk about how strong As Above, So Below is for a sophomore record coming over twenty years later, but apparently the band had two more records in between back in 1985-1986.  Never heard them, have no idea if they’re any good but apparently they got someone else besides Kevin Heybourne to sing vocals which was a huge mistake.  Which is I guess why no one talks about those albums and we’re jumping straight to this one… Continue reading “Angel Witch: As Above, So Below (2012)”

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